LATIN DECLINATION TABLES In Latin, there are five declinations. For knowing the declination of a noun, we have to see the nominative and genitive. 1 st declination: the form is a-ae. E.g.:fabula, fabulae. 2 nd declination: the form is us-i. E.g.:populus, populi 3 rd declination: here we have: nouns with pair sylabals, nouns with impair sylabals, false pair sylabals, and false impair sylabals. The false of pair sylabals are only seven, all have something to do with the family. The false of impair sylabals are the one that have impair sylabals, but before the ending of the declination there is there are two consonants. The false pair sylabals and the impair sylabals are declinated in the
Transcript
LATIN DECLINATION TABLESIn Latin, there are five declinations. For knowing the declination of a noun, we have to see the nominative and genitive.
1st declination: the form is a-ae. E.g.:fabula, fabulae.
2nd declination: the form is us-i. E.g.:populus, populi
3rd declination: here we have:
nouns with pair sylabals, nouns with impair sylabals, false pair sylabals, and false impair sylabals.
The false of pair sylabals are only seven, all have something to do with the family.
The false of impair sylabals are the one that have impair sylabals, but before the ending of the declination there is there are two consonants. The false pair sylabals and the impair sylabals are declinated in the same way. And the false impair sylabals and the pair sylabals are declinated in the same way.
This declination has the genitive in is.
4th declination: the form is us-us. E.g.:aditus, aditus
5th declination: the form has i in the genitive. E.g.: dies, diei.
If you look a world in a Latin dictionary, the nominative and genitive of the word will be provided.
1st DECLINATIONSINGULAR PLURAL
NOMINATIVO fabula fabulae
VOCATIVO fabula fabulae
ACUSATIVO fabulam fabulas
GENITIVOfabulae fabularum
DATIVO fabula fabulis
ABLATIVO fabula fabulis
2nd DECLINATIONM/F NEUTRALS
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURALNOMINATIVO populus populi augurium auguria
VOCATIVO popule populi augurium auguria
ACUSATIVO populum populos augurium auguria
GENITIVOpopuli populorum augurii auguriorum
DATIVO populo populis augurio auguriis
ABLATIVO populo populis augurio auguriis
3rd DECLINATIONIMPAIR SYLABALS FALSE PAIR
SYLABALSM/F NEUTRALS M/F
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL
NOMINATIVO homo homines nomen nomina pater patres
VOCATIVO homo homines nomen nomina pater patres
ACUSATIVO hominem homines nomen nomina patrem patres
GENITIVOhominis hominum nominis nominum patris patrum
DATIVO homini hominibus nomini nominibus patri patribus
ABLATIVO homine hominibus nomine nominibus patre patribus
3rd DECLINATIONPAIR SYLABALS FALSE IMPAIR
SYLABALSM/F NEUTRALS M/F
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURALNOMINATIVO hostis hostes mare maria gens gentes
VOCATIVO hostis hostes mare maria gens gentes
ACUSATIVO hostem hostes mare maria gentem gentes
GENITIVOhostis hostium maris marium gentis gentium
DATIVO hosti hostibus mari maribus genti gentibus
ABLATIVO hoste hostibus mari maribus gente gentibus
The listed sources are inconsistent on how the locative is formed, so the above table might not agree with your textbook. There is agreement among my textbooks that in the first and second declension, the locative singular is identical with the genitive form, and that in plurals it is
always the same as the dative-ablative form. Where they differ is in the locative forms for the singulars of the third, fourth and fifth declension. (It probably never occurs in the fifth declension!) For third declension singular, some say that it may take either the dative or the ablative form, while others say it takes the dative form. (Most of the examples they give seem to be the same as the dative in form.) For fourth declension singular, one says the dative forms are used, but the only actual example seems to be the fourth declension word domus whose locative is domi. But domus affords other problems since it was moving from fourth to second declension in classical times, and this form is consistent with its second declension paradigm.
Principal parts of nouns The principal parts of a noun are its nominative and genitive singular forms, for example:
matella, matellae. nf. chamber pot.
From the genitive ending -ae, the noun matella is identified as a first declension noun. Dropping the genitive ending gives the base matell- to which endings are added.
Some nouns have plural forms only. For these nouns, the principal parts are the nominative and genitive plural forms. For example:
castra, castrorum. nn. camp.
Again the genitive identifies the declension, in this case second declension, as well as the base castr- to which endings are added.
Basic usages of the various cases Nominative: Subject of a sentence, predicate nominatives
The boat is anchored to the shore.
When the silly clowns visit Rome, the emperor's sense of humor is a surprising sight to behold.
Venus, your new hairdo is a pathetic mess.
Genitive: Possession or attachment. The genitive case was disappearing from colloquial Latin (the Latin of everyday speech, usually called Vulgar Latin) and was often replaced by the preposition de followed by the ablative case.
When the silly clowns visit Rome, the emperor's sense of humor is a surprising sight to behold.
Dative: Indirect object. Like the genitive case, the dative case was also disappearing from colloquial Latin. The preposition ad followed by the accusative case was sometimes used as a substitute in colloquial Latin.
The silly clowns sometimes give the emperor a hard time.
The silly clowns sometimes give a hard time to the emperor.
Accusative: Direct object, object of prepositions of motion towards
When the silly clowns visit Rome, the emperor's sense of humor is a surprising sight to behold.
The silly clowns sometimes give the emperor a hard time.
The hen-pecked emperor is travelling to Rome by boat.
Ablative: Means (instrument), object of prepositions of position and of motion away
The boat is anchored to the shore.
The hen-pecked emperor is travelling to Rome by boat.
Locative: Location or position. In Latin, this case is a remnant of the old Indo-European Locative case. It is used primarily with place names and a handful of nouns denoting classes of places like domus (home). For most purposes it has been superseded by the use of the prepositions in or ad followed by the ablative case.
We bake our own cookies at home.
The emperor lives in Rome.
If the fountain of Tivoli isn't in Copenhagen, then maybe it was moved to Belgium.
Vocative: Personal address
Venus, your new hairdo is a pathetic mess.
Yo dude! Get a haircut!
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Wed Jun 21 20:39:35 EDT 2006
Ablative matella matellis by means of the chamber pot(s)
Locative matellae matellis at/in the chamber pot(s) (obsolete)
Vocative matella matellae O Chamber Pot(s)! (rare)
IrregularitiesThe Dative/Ablative/Locative plurals for dea and filia are deabus and filiabus, respectively.
First declension nouns of Greek origin have a mix of Greek first declension and Latin first and and fifth declension inflections. (In short, they get hopelessly slaughtered. Some examples appear below.)
o medicina, -ae. nf., medicine. (Related to medicus, -i. nm., doctor, physician.) medicinam exercêre. to practice medicine.o physicae, -arum. nf. pl., physics. (Related to physicus, -i. nm., physicist.)
4. Greek scientific and mathematical vocabulary
Those in this list are common enough typically to appear with standard Latin inflections. The Greek accusative ending -an will sometimes be used in place of Latin -am.
o theoria, -ae. nf., (sci.) theory.5. masculine nouns
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last update: Thursday, February 25, 2010.
Latin Second Declension NounsThere are several major classes of nouns in this declension. Each of the following is considered in turn:
1. Masculine and (a few) feminine nouns ending in -us2. Masculine and (a few) feminine nouns ending in -ius3. Strong nouns ending in -er or -ir4. Weak nouns ending in -er5. Neuter nouns ending in -um6. Neuter nouns ending in -ium
Masculine and feminine nouns ending in -us
Basic paradigmsomnus, somni. nm., sleep.
Case Singular Plural
Nominative somnus somni
Genitive somni somnorum
Dative somno somnis
Accusative somnum somnos
Ablative somno somnis
Locative somni somnis
Vocative somne somni
Some examples amicus, -i. nm., friend. animus, -i. nm., mind, spirit. campus, -i. nm., plain, field. caseus, -i. nm., cheese. cervus, -i. nm., deer. cibus, -i. nm., food. deus, -i. nm., god. domus, -us (-i). nf., house, home. (irreg.: Usually fourth declension, but sometimes it is declined as a second declension noun.) equus, -i. nm., horse. fagus, -i. nf., beech tree. fraxinus, -i. nf., ash tree. locus, -i. nm., place. modus, -i. nm., manner, means. mundus, -i. nm., world. oculus, -i. nm., eye. pinus, -i. nf., pine tree. servus, -i. nm., servant. sinus, -i. nm., large drinking cup, stein. (Not to be confused with sinus, -us. nm. indentation, curve.) somnus, -i. nm., sleep. ventus, -i. nm., wind.
In the genitive and locative singular, the ending -ii is contracted to -i. In the vocative singular, the ending -ie is also contracted to -i.
Some examples filius, fili. nm., son. gladius, gladi. nm., sword. socius, soci. nm., ally.
Strong nouns ending in -er or -ir
Basic paradigmvesper, vesperi. nm., evening.
Case Singular Plural
Nominative vesper vesperi
Genitive vesperi vesperorum
Dative vespero vesperis
Accusative vesperum vesperos
Ablative vespero vesperis
Locative vesperi vesperis
Vocative vesper vesperi
The vocative singular takes the form of the nominative. For all but nominative and vocative singular, endings are added to the base or nominative singular form.
Neuter abstract nouns ending in -mentum impedimentum, -i. nn., hindrance. medicamentum, -i. nn., drug, medicine. Modo medicamentis negate. Just say no to drugs. Modo medicamentis assentite. Just say yes to
drugs. tormentum, -i. nn., anguish, torment.
Neuter nouns ending in -ium
Basic paradigmadverbium, adverbi. nn., adverb.
Case Singular Plural
Nominative adverbium adverbia
Genitive adverbi adverbiorum
Dative adverbio adverbiis
Accusative adverbium adverbia
Ablative adverbio adverbiis
Locative adverbi adverbiis
Vocative adverbium adverbia
In the genitive and locative singular, the ending -ii is contracted to -i.
Some examples adverbium, adverbi. nn., adverb. convivium, convivi. nn., banquet. labia, labiorum. nn. pl., lips.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last updated: Monday, March 15, 2010.
This was commonly used for word creation in scientific Latin, and I believe it is still in common use in contemporary ecclesiastical Latin.
Some English neologisms also make use of this form of creation, not always consistently, e.g., verbification (modelled after clarification [from medieval Latin clarifico (1) from Latin clarus + facio, facere, feci, factus] and glorification [from medieval Latin glorifico (1) from Latin gloria + facio, facere, feci, factus]). Verbification can refer to new word creation in a language, or t can refer to a process of constructing verbs from nouns (for example, "to book a suspect".)
o aequatio, -ionis. nf., (math.) equation, identity. (from aequo (1). vt. make equal, match.)o declaratio, -ionis. nf., statement. (from declaro (1). vt., clarify.)o evolutio, -ionis. nf., unrolling a scroll, reading, (sci.) development, (math.) expansion (e.g. into series or products). (from evolvo, -
vêre -vi, -utus. vt., unroll, unfold, spread, expand.)o fluctuatio, -ionis. nf., wavering, fluctuation. (from fluctuo (1). vt. waver, fluctuate.)o fractio, -ionis. nf., (math.) fraction. (from frango, -ere, fregi, fractus. vt. smash, shatter, break.)o functio, -ionis. nf., performance, (math) function. (from fungor, fungi, functus sum. vi. perform.)o occasio, -ionis. nf., occasion, opportunity.o incantatio, -ionis. nf., spell, enchantment. (from incantatus, pp. of incanto (1). vt., enchant, cast a spell on.)o oratio, orationis. nf., speech, language, expression. (from oratus, pp. of oro (1). vt., beg for, plead.)
Masculine nouns of agency ending in -or, -oris These are formed from perfect passive participles: <participle stem> + -or
o doctor, -oris, nm., teacher. (from doceo (2ui), vt. teach.) o gladiator, -oris, nm., gladiator. (from gladius, nm. sword.) o imperator, -oris, nm., general, commander, emperor. (from impero (1), vt. order, command.) o monitor, -oris, nm., advisor. (from moneo (2), vt. warn, advise.) o vector, -oris, nm., rider, passenger. (from veho, vehere, vexi, vectus (3), vt. carry, transport. The modern mathematical term
vector is from the Latin word. There is also a related Latin verb vecto (1), also transitive, and very similar in meaning -- its past participle vectatus clearly does not give the stem for vector.)
Feminine abstract nouns ending in -tas, -tatisThese are formed from adjectives: <root> + -(i)tas
o genus, generis. nn., gender.o iter, itineris. nn., road.o lemma, lemmatis. nn. (Greek), theme, matter or subject for consideration. Math: a subsidiary theorem used primarily to prove a
main result, lemma.o opus, operis. nn., work.o theorema, theorematis. nn. (Greek), proposition to be proved, theorem.
Neuter nouns ending in -men, -minis(These don't appear to have any common means of formation, but appearances are often deceiving. If you know details of how these are formed, please share your knowledge with me.)
o crimen, -minis. nn., accusation, charge, guilt, crime. (source [not cause!] of English crime, criminal.)o flumen, -minis. nn., flow, river, stream. (probably related to fluo, fluere, fluxi, fluctus. flow, emanate, proceed from.)o limen, -minis. nn., threshold, doorway, border. (source of English subliminal, eliminate.)o nomen, -minis. nn., name, noun.
i-stemThese differ from other third declension nouns in that they take the ending -ium in the genitive plural. They may sometimes also take the endings -im, -i, -îs instead of the endings -em, -e, -es in the accusative singular, ablative singular, and the accusative plural, respectively.
Some examples animal, animalis. nn., animal. hostis, hostis. nm., enemy. mare, maris. nn., sea.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last updated: Friday September 17, 2010
Haec pagina cum editoribus Mozilla Seamonkey et Vim factus est. (This page was made using the Mozilla Seamonkey and Vim editors.)
Latin Fourth Declension Nouns There are two major classes of nouns in this declension, the masculine/feminine and the neuter classes. This declension was declining in use, with a number of masculine and feminine nouns moving to the second declension.
1. Masculine and feminine fourth declension nouns
Basic paradigm
manus, manus. nf., hand.
Case Singular Plural
Nominative manus manus
Genitive manus manuum
Dative manui, manu manibus, (manubus)
Accusative manum manus
Ablative manu manibus, (manubus)
Locative mani manibus, (manubus)
Vocative manus manus
The -ubus endings in the dative, ablative and locative plurals are used for acus, arcus, quercus, tribus, and usually for lacus and portus. The -ibus ending is used for most other fourth declension nouns.
Some examples o acus, -us. nf., needle. o aestus, -us. nm., heat. o anus, -us. nf., crone, hag, old woman. (Not to be unintentionally confused with anus, -i which means something entirely
different.) o arcus, -us. nm., bow. o artus, -us. nm., joint, limb.o cantus, -us. nm., song.o condus, -us. nm., shopkeeper. o cultus, -us. nm., civilization. o domus, -us (-i). nf., house, home. (Usually declension 4, but sometimes declension 2.) o exercitus, -us. nm., army. o fructus, -us. nm., enjoyment, profit, fruit produce. o gradus, -us. nm., step, pace. o Idus, -uum. nf. pl., Ides. (as in ``Beware the Ides of March!'') o lacus, -us. nm., lake. o magistratus, -us. nm., magistrate. o manus, -us. nf., hand. o metus, -us. nf., fear, dread. o porticus, -us. nf., colonnade. o portus, -us. nm., harbor. o quercus, -us. nf., oak. o senatus, -us. nm., senate. o sexus, -us. nm., sex, gender. o sinus, -us. nm., indentation, fold, curve, (math.) sine. (This noun should not be confused with sinus, -i which refers to a large
drinking cup.) cosinus, -us. nm., (math.) cosine.
o tonsus, -us. nm., haircut. o tribus, -us. nf., tribe.
Borrowed words of dubious origin and usage
When Latin borrows nouns, say from Greek, or perhaps through a time warp from English, these nouns may have somewhat creative declensions. Humez and Humez give the following:
o bozo, bozus. nm., clown.
By the way, both Webster's New World Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary indicate that the English slang word ``bozo'' is of obscure origin. (In short, Humez and Humez were probably being very creative!)
Masculine abstract nouns (Supines)
These are are all verbal nouns called supines. Generally in Latin, the supine is restricted to accusative and ablative fourth declension forms. A few supines exist in other cases as well. In the nominative, these take the form of the perfect passive participle, but they are present active in meaning.
plebes, plebei. nf., commoners. (Later in third declension plebs, plebis. [q.v.]) spes, spei. nf., hope. species, speciei (specie). nf., appearance.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Mon May 12 11:37:52 EDT 2008
Latin Fifth Declension Nouns Basic paradigmsres, rei. nf., thing. dies, diei (die). m. or f., day.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Mon May 12 11:37:52 EDT 2008
When used with cumThe preposition cum is attached as an enclitic to the reflexive pronouns (mecum, tecum, secum, nobiscum, vobiscum).
Direct usageWhen used in the main clause, the reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the main clause.
Indirect usageWhen used in a subordinate clause, the reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the main clause. When followed by the appropriate form of ipse, the reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the subordinate clause in question. (This differs from normal English usage!)
Claudia baked some cookies for Julia whenever Eleanor ordered some from her (se = Claudia). Claudia baked some cookies for Julia whenever Eleanor ordered some from herself (se ipsa = Eleanor).
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected])Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)
Last updated: Monday, 15 September, 1997. with a Minor correction: Fri May 19 20:26:25 EDT 2006
Latin Demonstrative Pronouns
The demonstratives hic, ille and isteThese are used both as pronouns which act as slightly emphatic versions of the English third person personal pronouns and as adjectives corresponding roughly to English this and that. Frequently in later Latin, and occasionally in Classical Latin, they also function as a definite article.
The demonstrative pronoun hic, haec, hoc is declined like a first and second declension adjective with the following peculiarities: o In all singular forms and in the neuter plural nominative-accusative form, an epideictic particle -c is added to the case ending.
When this particle follows an m, the m changes to an n. (In particular, humc, hamc become hunc, hanc.)o The nominative, genitive, and dative singular forms take irregular endings.
o The nominative-accusative form of the neuter plural takes the ending -ae(c) instead of the usual -a.
These are the antecedents of the French definite articles le, la.
The demonstrative pronoun ille, illa, illud is declined like a first and second declension adjective except for irregularities in the nominative, genitive and dative singular.
3. iste, ista, istud. dem. adj. that [indicating contempt or anger.] pnn. he(emph.).
Singular Plural
Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom. iste ista istud isti istae ista
Gen. istius istius istius istorum istarum istorum
Dat. isti isti isti istis istis istis
Acc. istum istam istud istos istas ista
Abl. isto ista isto istis istis istis
The demonstrative pronoun iste, ista, istud is declined like ille, illa, illud.
The demonstrative idemidem, eadem, idem. dem. adj./pnn. the same.
Singular Plural
Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom. idem eadem idem eidem eaedem eadem
Gen. eiusdem eiusdem eiusdem eorundem earundem eorundem
Dat. eidem eidem eidem eisdem eisdem eisdem
Acc. eundem eandem idem eosdem easdem eadem
Abl. eodem eadem eodem eisdem eisdem eisdem
The suffix -dem is indeclinable. These are declined like is, ea, id, the third personal pronouns. Some of the endings shift before the suffix, in particular -md- becomes -nd-.
The emphatic pronoun ipseipse, -a, -um. emph., oneself.
The emphatic pronoun ipse is declined like ille.
It's meaning is not reflexive, but emphatic. The following examples highlight the difference:
reflexive: Mary bought groceries for herself. emphatic: Mary herself bought groceries.
The heteroclite endingsThe ending -ius in the genitive singular and the ending -i in the dative singular are called heteroclite endings. They also appear as endings for a handful of first and second declension adjectives which are sometimes also used as pronouns. These adjectives include:
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected])Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last updated: Monday, 15 September, 1997.
In the first part of these notes, rough translations are given for various forms of the first conjugation transitive verb amare (to love). The reader is assumed to know the grammatical notions of person and number, so in most cases, we only work with first person singular. Subtleties of usage will be ignored, at least for the time being. Caveat emptor!
In the second part of these notes, general rules are given for verb conjugation. These are rough in that there are some changes of vowels and vowel lengths that are completely ignored in this section.
Principal parts for amare, to love, to like amo, amare, amavi, amatus. I love, to love, I (have) loved, loved.
Some verbs are impersonal, i.e., they only exist in the third person singular. (Example: miseret, miserere, miseruit, miseritum. It is a pity, to be a pity, it was a pity, having been a pity.)
Some verbs are intransitive, i.e., they do not take direct objects. The fourth principal part of these verbs is either the neuter form of the perfect passive participle for verbs intransitive verbs which take an indirect object in the dative case, or the future active participle for other intransitive verbs. (Examples: asto, astare, asteti, astatum I assist, to assist, I assisted, assisted. sum, esse, fui, futurus. I am, to be, I was, about to be.) Intransitive verbs which take indirect objects may have impersonal passive voice forms which are occasionally tricky to translate.
Some verbs are deponent which means that they are passive in form but active in meaning. (Example: misereor, misereri, miseritus sum. I pity, to pity, I pitied.)
Infinitives
The Modern English tense system does not quite correspond with the Latin tense system, particularly in certain uses of the perfect tenses. But the following translations usually make a good first attempt.
Present Active: amare to love, to be lovingPerfect Active: amavisse to have lovedFuture Active: amaturus esse to be about to love, to be going to be loving
Present Passive: amari to be lovedPerfect Passive: amatus esse to have been lovedFuture Passive: amatum iri to be about to be loved, to be going to be loved, to be loved
Participles Present Active: amans lovingFuture Active: amaturus about to love
Perfect Passive: amatus loved, having been lovedFuture Passive: amandus to be loved
Indicative Mood Present Active: amo I love, I do love, I am lovingImperfect Active: amabam I loved, I did love, I was loving, I used to loveFuture Active: amabo I shall love, I am going to love, I am about to lovePerfect Active: amavi I loved, I have lovedPluperfect Active: amaveram I had lovedFuture Perfect Active: amavero I shall have loved
The key distinction between the imperfect and the perfect in Latin is not the same as that between the past tense and present perfect in English. (English usage here is idiomatic among the Indo-European languages.) In Latin as in many Indo-European languages, the perfect tense conveys a completed action (e.g. “I sang Tom Dooley yesterday.”) The imperfect tense conveys continuation or repetition or habitual action (e.g. “We practiced Tom Dooley for three weeks”.)
Note: perfect < perfectus (adj) complete, finished. past participle of perficio, -ficere - to complete.
Present Passive: amor I am loved, I am being lovedImperfect Passive: amabar I was loved, I was being loved, I used to be lovedFuture Passive: amabor I shall be loved, I am going to be loved, I am about to be lovedPerfect Passive: amatus sum I was loved, I have been lovedPluperfect Passive: amatus eram I had been lovedFuture Perfect Passive: amatus ero I shall have been loved
Subjunctive Mood
In a number of circumstances, the Latin subjunctive corresponds to special usages of the Modern English indicative. However, for other uses, the following suggestions may better fit the meaning.
Present Active: amem I may love, let me love, I should love, I would loveImperfect Active: amarem I might love, I would lovePerfect Active: amaverim I may have loved, I should have loved, I would have lovedPluperfect Tense amavissem I might have loved, I would have loved
Present Passive: amer I may be loved, let me be loved, I should be loved, I would be lovedImperfect Passive: amarer I might be loved, I would be lovedPerfect passive subjunctive: amatus sim I may have been loved, I should have been loved, I would have been lovedPluperfect passive subjunctive: amatus essem I might have been loved, I would have been loved
Present Passive: amare, amamini (second person) Be loved! Future Passive: amator (second person singular) amator, amantor (third person)
Gerund and Supine Gerund: amandum loving (used as a noun) Supine amatum to love
Approximate conjugation patterns for regular verbs This section is intend mainly as a guide to the similarities among the different conjugations. Where things tend to get more complicated is in vowel lengthenings (ignored completely in written Latin anyway) and changes before certain endings, especially the first person singular and the third person plural.
Stems The base, the present stem, perfect stem, and the participial stem may be determined from the principal parts, as given by the following examples.
Conjugation I celo, celare, celavi, celatus hideConjugation II habeo, habere, habui, habitus haveConjugation III rego, regere, rexi, rectus ruleConjugation III-io capio, capere, cepi, captus takeConjugation III-Ø fero, ferre, tuli, latus carry, bearConjugation IV audio, audire, audivi, auditus hear
ferre is usually classed as an irregular verb. While it is unusual in form, it seems perfectly regular to me. (It was so regular, in fact, that I was able to produce the conjugation paradigm page for ferre from the conjugation paradigm page for capere using very simple global replace strings.)
The base and the stems are formed from these examples are as follows:
I II III III-io III-Ø IV
base cel- hab- reg- cap- fer- aud- infinitive - ending
When attaching endings to the stem, the stem vowel will sometimes undergo a strengthening or a weakening. This results in some irregularities — especially in the third conjugation.
Indicative Active voice:
o Present: Present stem + present endingso Imperfect: Present stem + -ba- + imperfect endings o Future:
o Perfect: Perfect passive participle + sum o Pluperfect: Perfect passive participle + eram o Future perfect: Perfect passive participle + ero
Subjunctive
The subjunctive stem is obtained from the base as follows:
I II III III-io III-Ø IV
Base + e Base + ea Base + a Base + ia Base + a Base + ia Active voice:
o Present: Subjunctive stem + past endings o Imperfect: Present infinitive + past endings o Perfect: Perfect stem + -eri- + past endings o Pluperfect: Perfect stem + -isse- + past endings
Passive voice: o Present: Subjunctive stem + passive endings o Imperfect: Present infinitive + passive endings o Perfect: Perfect passive participle + sim o Pluperfect: Perfect passive participle + essem
Because we don't mark vowels, the future indicative and the present subjunctive for the third conjugation look pretty much the same. They differ in the length of vowels, but you don't see that distinction in written texts. According to Latino pro populo the similarity is not accidental.
The future perfect indicative and the past subjunctive also often look the same when vowels are not marked.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Thu Sep 13 17:00:09 EDT 2007
Latin First Conjugation Paradigm
Principal parts for celare, to hide, to conceal celo, celare, celavi, celatus.
The ending -is in the present and past passive subjunctive (2 sing) is sometimes contracted to -e.
Imperative Mood Active Voice
Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 cela celate3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 celato celatote3 celato celanto
Passive VoicePresent Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 celare celamini3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 celator -----3 celator celantor
Gerund and Supine Genitive Dative Accusative Ablative
Gerund celandi celando celandum celando
Supine ----- ----- celatum celatu
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Wed Aug 27 19:29:06 EDT 1997
Examples of First Conjugation VerbsThe four principal parts of almost all first conjugation verbs can be obtained from the stem of first person present indicative form by adding the endings -o, -a, -avi, and -atus. Rather than write out all four principal parts, I mark the regular verbs as (1). For example, the entry: ambulo (1). vt. traverse, travel. vi. walk.is short for the entry: ambul-o, -are, -avi, -atus. (transitive verb) traverse, travel. (intransitive verb) walk.
addigito (1). vt. (late Latin) to point [something] out aequo (1). vt. make level, match, (math) make equal. ambulo (1). vt. traverse, travel. vi. walk.
o ambulo (1). vi. walk beside.o debulo (1). vi. take a walk.
amo (1). vt. love, like.o adamo (1). vt. fall in love with.
celo (1). vt. hide, conceal.o concelo (1). vt. hide, conceal.
o Related to the third conjugation verb specioo aspecto (1). vt. face, look forward (to).o conspicor, conspicari, conspicatus sum. vt. catch sight of.o ex(s)pecto (1). vt. look out for, await.
o respecto (1). vt. look back (on), respect.o suspicor, suspicari, suspicatus sum. vt. suspect.
spiro (1). vt. breathe. sto, stare, steti, staturus. vi. stand.
o absto, abstare, abstiti, abstaturus. vi. stand afar, stand aloof.o asto, astare, astiti, astatum. vi. stand up, stand erect. vi. assist (+ dat.).o circumsto, -stare, -steti, -status. vt. stand around, encircle, surround.o insto, -stare, -stiti, -status. vt. pursue. vi. stand on, insist.o obsto, -stare, -stiti, -statum. vt. hinder (+ dat.).o Changing to third conjugation: sisto, -stere, -stiti, -status. vt. hinder.
Irregular verb dareThe a in the infinitive is short, rather than long. Most of the conjugation is regular except for the length of the a in the present stem before some of the endings. In addition, some forms have alternate irregular forms (e.g.: Third person plural present indicative dant or danunt.) Like stare, some compounds of dare drift into third declension (e.g.: trado, tradere, tradidi, traditus. vt. handover, betray.)
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last updated: Wednesday, May 14, 2008.
The ending -is in the present and past passive subjunctive (2 sing) is sometimes contracted to -e.
Imperative Mood Active Voice
Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural Singular Plural
2 habe habete3 ----- -----
2 habeto habetote3 habeto habento
Passive VoicePresent Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 habere habemini3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 habetor -----3 habetor habentor
Gerund and Supine Genitive Dative Accusative Ablative
Gerund habendi habendo habendum habendo
Supine ----- ----- habitum habitu
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Wed Aug 27 20:22:03 EDT 1997
Examples of Second Conjugation VerbsThe second conjugation has some irregularities not found in the first conjugation. In particular, the four principal parts do not follow in a single standard way from the first person present indicative form. However, some regular patterns occur. I have grouped this list according to the third principal part or first person perfect indicative form.
Second conjugation -evi verbsThe endings of the principal parts are -eo, -ere, -evi, and -etus. Verbs that follow this pattern are marked (2evi) for short.
deleo (2evi). vt. destroy. pleo (2evi). vt. fill.
o expleo (2evi). vt. fill up, satisfy.o compleo (2evi). vt. fill up, supply.o impleo (2evi). vt. fill.o repleo (2evi). vt. refill, replenish.
Second conjugation -ui verbsThe endings of the principal parts are -eo, -ere, -ui, and -itus. I mark these verbs as (2ui) for short.
appareo (2ui). vi. appear. careo (2ui). vi. lack, be without (+ gen. or abl.). (Sometimes used impersonally.) censeo, -ere, -ui, -us. vt. expect, assess, tax, register, propose. exerceo (2ui). vt., keep busy, supervise, train, practice. habeo (2ui). vt. have, hold, possess.
It is not surprising that the Latin verb habere (to have) and derivative words have a number of English descendents. Among them are:
o habit [< habitus, -us (custom) a supine (=abstract noun, gerundive) form]; o debit [< debitus < de(hi)beo], o exhibit, exhibition [< exhibitus < exhibeo], o inhibit, inhibition [< inhibitus < inhibeo], o prohibit, prohibition [< prohibitus < prohibeo],
English to have is unrelated despite its superficial similarity. The American Heritage Dictionary list the Proto-Indo-European root ghabh- for Latin habere and kap- for English to have.
In case you happen to be suspicious of the vowel change from habeo to cohibeo, note that the risquée English verb to cohabit comes instead from the stem cohabit- of the first conjugation Latin verb cohabitare [< cum (with) + habitare (to live in, dwell)] and not from cohibit-, the stem of the fourth principal part of cohibeo. Curiously habitare does come from the supine form habitus, so cohibeo is a great uncle of cohabitare.
o debeo (2ui). vt. ought, owe. (contraction of dehibeo.)o exhibeo (2ui). vt. display, exhibit.o inhibeo (2ui). vt. restrain, control.o perhibeo (2ui). vt. assert.o praebeo (2ui). vt. offer, hold out. (contraction of praehibeo.)o prohibeo (2ui). vt. hinder, prevent.
liceor, liceri, licitus sum. vi. make an offer for, bid on.
licet, licere, licuit (licitum est). impers. it is permitted, one may. (A subject can be given in the dative, e.g., mihi licet, I may. misereor, misereri, miseritus sum. vi. pity (+ gen.).
miseret, miserere, miseruit, miseritum. impers. be a pity. moneo (2ui). vt. warn, remind.
o admoneo (2ui). vt. suggest.
The past participle admonitus yields English admonish and admonition.
pareo (2ui). vi. obey. pateo (2ui). vi. spread, extend, lie open. placeo (2ui). vi. please (+ dat.). taceo (2ui). vi. keep silent. teneo, -ere, -ui, tentus. vt. hold, keep, posses.
o attineo, -tinere, -tenui, -tentus. vt. hold on to, reach for, attain.o detineo, -tinere, -tenui, -tentus. vt. hold up, detain, occupy.
o obtineo, -tinere, -tenui, -tentus. vt. keep up, hold on to, persist.o pertineo, -tinere, -tenui, -tenturus. vi. reach, extend, pertain.o retineo, -tinere, -tenui, -tentus. vt. hold back, restrain, retain.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last updated: Thu Aug 12 12:54:08 EDT 2010
Latin Third Conjugation e-stem Paradigm
Principal parts for gerere, to conduct, manage gero, gerere, gessi, gestus.
The ending -is in the present and past passive subjunctive (2 sing) is sometimes contracted to -e.
Imperative Mood Active Voice
Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 gere gerite3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 gerito geritote3 gerito gerunto
Passive VoicePresent Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 gerere gerimini3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 geritor -----3 geritor geruntor
Gerund and Supine Genitive Dative Accusative Ablative
Gerund gerendi gerendo gerendum gerendo
Supine ----- ----- gestum gestu
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Thu Aug 28 14:06:08 EDT 1997
The ending -is in the present and past passive subjunctive (2 sing) is sometimes contracted to -e.
Imperative Mood Active Voice
Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural Singular Plural
2 iace iacite3 ----- -----
2 iacito iacitote3 iacito iaciunto
Passive VoicePresent Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 iacere iacimini3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 iacitor -----3 iacitor iaciuntor
Gerund and Supine Genitive Dative Accusative Ablative
Gerund iaciendi iaciendo iaciendum iaciendo
Supine ----- ----- iactum iactu
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Wed Aug 27 21:01:38 EDT 1997
Latin Third Conjugation Ø-stem Paradigm
Principal parts for ferre, to carry, bear fero, ferre, tuli, latus.
The ending -is in the present and past passive subjunctive (2 sing) is sometimes contracted to -e.
Imperative Mood Active Voice
Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 fer ferte3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 ferto fertote3 ferto ferunto
Passive VoicePresent Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 ferre ferimini3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 fertor -----3 fertor feruntor
Gerund and Supine Genitive Dative Accusative Ablative
Gerund ferendi ferendo ferendum ferendo
Supine ----- ----- latum latu
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Wed Aug 27 21:15:14 EDT 1997
Examples of Third Conjugation VerbsI have divided the third conjugation verbs into three major classes, namely the e-stems, the i-stems and the Ø-stems. The class of Ø-stems consists of ferre and its common and is usually treated as an irregular verb. I don't really see any reason to do this -- at least it isn't any more irregular than the average third conjugation verb (except maybe that its present, perfect and participle stems are so ridiculously different).
vivo, -ere, vixi, victurus. vi. be alive, survive; (with ablative, or with de followed by ablative:) subsist on. vive. adv. in a lively manner. volvo, -vere, -vi, -utus. vt. roll, turn about.
o evolvo, -vere, -vi, -utus. vt. unroll, unfold, spread, expand.
The ending -is in the present and past passive subjunctive (2 sing) is sometimes contracted to -e.
Imperative Mood Active Voice
Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 sci scite3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 scito scitote3 scito sciunto
Passive VoicePresent Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 scire scimini3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 scitor -----3 scitor sciuntor
Gerund and Supine Genitive Dative Accusative Ablative
Gerund sciendi sciendo sciendum sciendo
Supine ----- ----- scitum scitu
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Thu Jan 22 11:08:30 EST 1998. Typo correction: subjunctive `sciatis' was listed incorrectly as `scietis'. (Thanks to Marcella for pointing me to it!)
Examples of Fourth Conjugation VerbsThe four principal parts of many fourth conjugation verbs can be obtained from the stem of fourth person present indicative form by adding the endings -io, -ire, -ivi, and -itus. Rather than write out all four principal parts of such verbs, I mark these very regular verbs as (4). For example, the entry: scio (4). vt. know.is short for the entry: scio, scire, scivi, scitus. (transitive verb) know.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last updated: Wed Sep 25 11:36:08 EDT 2002
Latin Irregular Conjugation Paradigm (esse)
Principal parts for esse, to besum, esse, fui, (futurus).
Infinitives and Participles Present Perfect Future
For the past subjective, the following forms are also found: forem, fores, ...
Imperative Mood Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural Singular Plural
2 es este3 ----- -----
2 esto estote3 esto sunto
Compounds absum. be absent. adsum. be present. desum. fail at (+ dat.ve). insum. be in. intersum. be among (+ dat.ve). obsum. be against (+ dat.ve). possum, posse, potui. be able, can. (from pot- + esse.) praesum. be in charge of, preside over (+ dat.ve). prosum, prodesse, profui, profuturus. be useful for, be good for (+ dat.ve). subsum. be near (+ dat.ve). supersum. to survive (+ dat.ve).
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Tue Aug 26 14:53:04 EDT 1997
Latin Irregular Conjugation Paradigm (fieri)
Principal parts for fieri, to become, to be madefio, fieri, factus sum.
The perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect forms are constructed from the perfect participle and the present, past or future tense of esse.
Perfect: factus sum Pluperfect: factus eram Future perfect: factus ero
Subjunctive Mood Present Tense Imperfect Tense
Singular Plural1 fiam fiamus
Singular Plural1 fierem fieremus
2 fias fiatis3 fiat fiant
2 fieres fieretis3 fieret fierent
The perfect and pluperfect forms are constructed from the perfect participle and the present or past subjunctive of esse.
Perfect: factus sim Pluperfect: factus essem
Imperative Mood Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 fi fite3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 ----- -----3 ----- -----
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Wed Sep 1 11:03:25 EDT 2004 Thanks to Celia K for the corrections to the severely typo-ridden Future Active Indicative!
Latin Irregular Conjugation Paradigm (ire)
Principal parts for ire, to goeo, ire, ivi or ii, itum.
The perfect, pluperfect and future perfect forms are sometimes contracted from iv- to i-.
Imperative Mood Present Tense Future Tense
Singular Plural2 i ite3 ----- -----
Singular Plural2 ito itote3 ito eunto
Gerund and Supine Genitive Dative Accusative Ablative
Gerund eundi eundo eundum eundo
Supine ----- ----- itum itu
Compounds abeo. vi. go away, leave. adeo. vt. go toward, approach, attack, visit. ambio. vt. go around, encircle. circumeo. vt. go around, visit, cheat. coeo. vi. meet, mate, copulate. depereo. vt. be hopelessly in love with. vi. perish. exeo. vt. ward off. vi. leave. ineo. vt. enter. intereo. vi. perish. obeo. vt. travel to, review. vi. die, fade away. pereo. vi. perish. praeeo. vt. lead. prodeo. vi. advance.
redeo. vi. return. subeo. vt. approach. transeo. vt. cross. veneo. vi. be for sale.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Fri Dec 13 15:31:06 EST 2002
Latin Irregular Conjugation Paradigm (malle)
Principal parts for malle, to prefermalo, malle, malui.
Infinitives and Participles Present Perfect Future
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Mon Aug 25 12:22:48 EDT 1997
Latin Irregular Conjugation Paradigm (nolle)
Principal parts for nolle, to be unwillingnolo, nolle, nolui.
Infinitives and Participles Present Perfect Future
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Mon Aug 25 12:26:47 EDT 1997
Latin Irregular Conjugation Paradigm (velle)
Principal parts for velle, to wishvolo, velle, volui.
Infinitives and Participles Present Perfect Future
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Mon Aug 25 12:30:08 EDT 1997
Conjunctions come in two flavors, coördinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. Coördinating conjunctions join two expressions or two clauses at the same level. Subordinating conjunctions connect a clause at a lower level to a clause one level deeper.
In addition, a number of adverbs are often used like conjunctions. These include a number of Latin equivalents of English words like therefore, moreover and however.
Coördinating Conjunctions
These connect two grammatical units at an equal level, such as:
two nouns or noun phrases
the green bird and the hungry cat
two independent clauses
Purple cows don't exist, but Descartes claims to exist because he thinks.
Simple conjunctions ac. and. at. but. (This is more emphatic than sed.) atque. and, and also, moreover. aut. or. et. and. nec non. and besides.
Note: the meaning of the first conjoined expression is affirmative rather than negative not only in Latin but also in English (nec in lingua Latina classica et in lingua Anglisca moderna)!
ergo, idcirco, itaque, unde. hence, thus, therefore, then, whence. etiam, insuper, porro, praeterea. and besides, furthermore, and in addition, moreover. tamen, autem. however, nevertheless, nonetheless.
Subordinating Conjunctions These connect a clause of one level to a clause of a deeper level: Purple cows don't exist, but Descartes claims to exist because he thinks.
For a number of subordinating conjunctions, the meaning may depend significantly on the mood (indicative or subjunctive) of the verb in the subordinate clause. The indicative mood typically has a factual meaning, whereas the subjunctive frequently denotes possibility or obligation.
cum. when, whenever, since, because. o cum -temporal clauses (when, whenever) . The subordinate clause takes the subjunctive mode. o cum -causal clauses (since, because) . The subordinate clause takes the indicative mode if the time is present, future or definite
past. The subordinate clause takes the subjunctive mode for indefinite past time. si. if.
o Statements of fact take the indicative mode. o Statements of possibility take the subjunctive mode.
Some subordinating conjunctions antequam. before. cum. when, whenever, since, because. dum. while, if only, so long as, until. si. if. usque. until. ut. while, as.
Mathematical equations and fit In mathematical German, formulas (equations and inequalities) are treated as expressions rather than as sentences. However, in mathematical English, they are more commonly treated as sentences. Since symbolic expressions of the kind used in nineteenth and twentieth century mathematics only go back to the Renaissance period, treatment of these symbolic expressions may vary a bit. A writer handling formulas as expressions is apt to make heavy use of fit, the third person singular present indicative of the irregular verb fieri. In English, this is apt to be translated as therefore rather than more literally as it becomes. The following example should clarify the issue:
f(x)=x².Changing x into x+h,it becomes: f(x)=x²+2hx+h².
f(x)=x².Then,changing x into x+h, f(x)=x²+2hx+h².
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Sun Sep 14 14:38:18 EDT 1997
PrepositionsTake these examples with a grain of salt. The classical Latin system of prepositions does not coincide neatly with the English system. Accordingly, some of the examples may reflect my prejudices as an English speaker more than they reflect classical Latin usage. Of course if you find such an example, please do send me email (polite or inflammatory). I would like this to be as accurate as possible.
Prepositions governing the accusative
ad motion to ad senatum ambulare to walk to the Senate
adversus against
ante position in front of, before
carrum ante equum ponere to put the cart before the horse
contra against contra condus pugnare to fight with the shopkeepers
erga motion toward
extra position outside extra casam pugnaverunt they fought outside the house
in motion into, onto, on saxum in casam iacere to throw the rock into the house
infra position below
inter position between, among
inter amicos sto I stand among friends
intra position within
juxta position near
ob cause because of
per motion through
post position behind, after equum post carrum ponere to put the horse after the cart
praeter beyond, past
prope position near
propter cause because of post hoc ergo propter hoc after it thus because of it (logical fallacy)
secundum position next to
sub motion under
super position over
supra position above, over pontis supra aquam territum a bridge over fearful water
trans motion across ventus trans flumen flat the wind blows across the stream
versus motion toward
ultra beyond
As Latin was losing its case system, prepositions started to move in to fill the void. In colloquial Latin, the preposition ad followed by the accusative was sometimes used as a substitute for the dative case.
Classical Latin: Iacobus geometrae librum donat James is giving the geometer the book.
Vulgar Latin: Iacobus librum ad geometrem donat James is giving the book to the geometer.
Modern French: Jacques donne le livre au géomètre James is giving the book to the geometer.
Prepositions governing the ablative
a, ab, abs agent by ab Aenea esus eaten by Aeneas
time since, after a censu natus born after the census
motion from from a domu veniens coming from home
cause from, out of ab augerio territus frightened by augury
cum accompaniment with cum Marco edi I ate with Mark
de motion from down from de caelo descendere to fall from the sky
subject about,concerning
liber de Caesare a book about Caesar
e, ex source from, out of de danista ex infernis affligi to be injured by the money lender from hell
in position in, on in saxo sto I am standing on the rock
prae position before cum prae Caesare Clintone steti, mihi ad Texam ablegavit because I stood before President Clinton, he banished me to Texas
pro position in front of, for pro vobis venio, ut post vos sto I come before you to stand behind you
sine accompaniment without amor sine spe love without hope
sub position below, under aqua sub ponte water under the bridge
Just as in the disappearing dative case, colloquial Latin sometimes replaced the disappearing genitive case with the preposition de followed by the ablative.
Classical Latin: Iacobus mihi librum geometrae donat. James is giving me the geometer's book.
Vulgar Latin: Iacobus mihi librum de geometre donat. James is giving me the book of (belonging to) the geometer.
Vulgar Latin: Iacobus librum de geometre ad me donat. James is giving the book of (belonging to) the geometer to me.
Modern French: Jacques me donne le livre du géomètre. James is giving me the book of (belonging to) the geometer.
Modern French: Jacques donne le livre du géomètre à moi. James is giving the book of (belonging to) the geometer to me.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page)Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page)Last updated: Wed Jan 20 12:46 EDT 2010
Latin InterjectionsAn interjections is a word or phrase which doesn't have much grammatical connection to the rest of a sentence. In some cases, an interjection may serve as an entire sentence. Some relatively clean examples in English -- the interjection is in boldface:
1. Egad! August, to think that even Brutus would join the rebels.2. The sum of these two power series yields well uh an analytic continuation of Riemann's zeta function.3. Doh!4. Darn it!5. Oh!
Latin also has interjections. Some indicate emotion, some derive from invocations of members of the Roman or Greek pantheon, some are Greek borrowings, while others are taken from other parts of speech. (Translations in italics are guesses by me.) G-rated examples:
age (imperative of ago, agere (III), egi, actus to drive, to urge, to conduct) Come! Well! ecce (astonishment) behold! ehem (pleasant surprise) wow! eheu (pain) ow! oh! eho (rebuke) see here! ehodum (rebuke) now see here! ei, hei (fear or dismay) eia, heia (praise) good! (haste) quick! eia age (haste) quickly now! come quick! em, hem (probably from imperative eme of emo, emere (III), emi, emptus to aquire, to buy) (1) Here you are! (2) There you are!
(followed by a dative indicating something that is being given.) eu (ironic) great! (Great! Now it will take a mere two hundred years for me to finish.) euge (praise) terrific! euhoe, evoe, evae (cry of ecstasy at a Bacchanal) eeyow! Hercle By Hercules! heu, eheu, vae (sorrow) alas! heus (drawing attention) hey! io (joy!) ho! Iove By Jove! lo (from Greek?) Lo! (as in "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming...") o (astonishment) oh! Pol Pollux! Polydeuces! papae (delight!) wonderful! pro oh! pro pudor fie! for shame pro di immortales heavens above! heavens to betsy! (literally: for the immortal gods!) st shhh! vae woe! (with dative) woe to (e.g. vae mihi Woe is me!)
(Sources for the initial version of this page: Allen & Greenough New Latin Grammar [referenced on main page], The New College Latin & English Dictionary [also referenced on main page], and William Whitaker's Words Mail comments to Eric Conrad ([email protected]). Sursum adeamus! (Back to the Latin home page) Domum Erici adeamus! (Back to Eric's home page) Last updated: Thu Jul 31 13:51:47 EDT 2003
Latin Examples
Introduction (Prooemium)
This is a collection in progress of snippets of Latin. In this section, I have not bothered to mark long vowels.
If you'd like to contribute a few sentences to this modest collection, then feel free to email your submission to me at the the email address below. I will acknowledge any submissions that I decide to use.
If you're looking for online Latin texts or English translations, please check out the links to other Latin resources.
PS: I'm sure there are mistakes here. Don't hesitate to offer any corrections.
Elementary examples (Exempla facilia)1. Lingua latina demortua est. Romanos occidit etenim me necat. -- schoolboy taunt
Latin is dead. It killed the Romans and it's killing me too.
Public service warning: Gentlemen, avoid the temptation to try this sentence out on your girlfriend -- even in your best bedroom voice (vox amatoria). After all, if you can find this web site, so can she.
3. Vir honeste, tonsum affer.
Yo dude! get a haircut.
(60's nostalgia version) Vir transitori, tonsum affer.
Get a haircut, hippie.
4. Quae sufficiat addigitasse. -- C. G. Jacobi. in § 46 of Fundamenta Nova Theoriae Functionum Ellipticarum
May it suffice to have pointed out these things.
Let it suffice to have pointed out these things.
(fig.) The details are left as an exercise.
Notes: addigitasse is a contraction of addigitavisse, the perfect infinitive of a Late Latin verb addigitare, to point out. This verb is listed in Latham's list of Latin words from medieval British and Irish sources. According to Latham, the first word shows up in one of his sources dating back to approximately 1180 CE. It is a compound ad + digit- where digitus is Latin for finger. Question: Is the modern Italian verb additare a cognate?
5. Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant.
Hail Caesar, those who are about to die salute you.
Folk songsI've butchered several American folk songs, both traditional and revisionist, and partially (and whimsically!) translated them into folksy Latin. Some of these might be singable. Win virtual prizes for correctly identifying the songs and finding all the errors! E canto in ventulus flare auctore Roberto Dylano: De quot viis viro ambulandum est, dum virum appelatur. E canto de Thoma Dulio cantoribus trinionis Regioppidi: Caput demitte, Thomas Duli! Caput demitte fleque. Caput demitte, Thomas Duli! Miser! iussum est, ut mori deberere. E canto traditionale de bella Pollia: Pollia! bella Pollia! veni et mecum i. Pollia! bella Pollia! veni et mecum i, ut videamus gaudios, antequam maramur. E canto traditionale Pauper barbarus errans: Sum pauper barbarus errans, Qui per terram miserandam, Et est nec morbus nec labor nec periculum In terra alba ad quam eo.
Mail comments and contributions to Eric Conrad ([email protected]).Domum Erici adeamus!Sursum adeamus!Last updated: Tue Sep 25 16:42:26 EDT 2007 (If you're looking for a favorite phrase that you suggested in Spring or Summer of 2007, please don't despair yet. I do have several good suggestions that I still plan to add to this list.)
Latin Phrase Abbrev. Literal English Translation Examples
ad nauseam to the point of disgust and so on and on and on and on
amicus curiae a friend of the court an interested third party The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus curiae brief supporting Jerry Falwell's suit against the city of Lynchburg.
causa sine qua non a reason swithout which not
an indispensible condition
cave canem! Beware of the dog!
caveat emptor!Let the buyer beware!Let the customer beware!
"Caveat emptor" applies to many phishing schemes on the internet.
de facto from deed existing, in actuality "De facto segregration" arises from daily living rather than legal sanction.
de jure according to law legally "De jure segregration" is sanctioned or demanded by law.
de minimis about smallest (things) about triviaabout trivialities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_minimis
et alii et al. and others and others The Interminable Tome by Joshua Longworth, Mary Longworth, et al.
et cetera etc. and the rest and so on
ex post facto after the deed retroactiveThe U.S. Constitution prohibits ex post facto laws. (An ex post facto law makes a crime out of an act committed before the enactment of the law.)
exempli gratia e.g. for the sake of an for example The mayors of some cities, e.g. Columbus, are directly elected
(A New Jersey court cited the doctrine of "nemo est haeres viventis"in rejecting the legality of a waiver signed by scuba diver killed inan accident. Bonnie Gershon, et al. v. Regency Diving Center, Inc.)
In hoc signo vinces. In this sign, thou shalt conquer.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. Anything said in Latin sounds profound.Literally: Whatever may have been said in Latin is heard (as) profound.
Res ipsa loquitur. The matter is self-evident. [see above]Literally: The matter itself speaks.
Veni. Vidi. Vici. I came. I saw. I conquered.
Latin phrases that ought to be used
Latin Phrase Abbrev. Literal English Translation Examples
Third declension adjectives of one ending appear thus: potens, -entis. Masculine, feminine, and neuter nominative singular are the same. These forms are derived from the present active participle.
Translate as "the most X" or "the X-est." e.g. formosissimus; "the most pretty" or "the prettiest."
Adjectives which end in [-er] in the nominative, singular, masculine have the superlative form with [-errim-] rather than [-issim-]. e.g pulch-er (positive), pulchr-ior (comparative), pulch-errim-us (superlative).
nv gt ADIECTIVA
Declinatie: 1e / 2e - decl. 3e decl.
Geslacht: M(asculinum)F(emininum) N(eutrum) M of F N
NOM sg bon us bon a bon um fort is fort e
GEN sg bon i bon ae bon i fort is fort is
DAT sg bon o bon ae bon o fort i fort i
ACC sg bon um bon am bon um fort em fort e
ABL sg bon o bon a bon o fort i fort i
VOC sg bon e
NOM pl bon i bon ae bon a fort es fort ia
GEN pl bon orum bon arum bon orum fort ium fort ium
DAT pl bon is bon is bon is fort ibus fort ibus
ACC pl bon os bon as bon a fort es fort ia
ABL pl bon is bon is bon is fort ibus fort ibus
Betekenis: goed goed goed sterk, dapper sterk, dapper
Bij de adiectiva van de 1e/2e declinatie horen ook de adiectiva als: pulcher,-chra, -chrum (= mooi)
asper, - era, -erum (= ruw)Bij de adiectiva van de 3e declinatie horen ook:
adiectiva van 3 uitgangen op -er, -eris: acer, acris, acre ( = hevig, fel) adiectiva van 1 uitgang (alle andere): felix ,-icis(= gelukkig) adiectiva met abl. sg. op -e: vetus (= oud), dives ,-vitis(= rijk) en pauper , -eris(=arm)
het ppa: bv. vocans ,-ntis; (let op: abl. sg. op -e !)Er zijn ook enkele adiectiva met een gen. sg. op -ius en een dat. sg. op -i !
unus (= één), solus (= alleen), totus (= geheel), ullus (= enig, één enkele), nullus (= geen enkele), uter? (= wie van beide?), uterque (= elk van beide), neuter (= geen van beide), alter (de één, de ander [van twee]), alius ,gen: alterius (= [een] ander)
Adiectiva (bijvoeglijke naamwoorden) worden gebruikt: bij substantiva (zelfstandige naamwoorden) en passen zich daaraan aan in geslacht, getal en naamval! als naamwoordelijk deel van het gezegde en passen zich aan aan het onderwerp in geslacht, getal en naamval!
(soms) zelfstandig.
Numerals (Numeralia)
The circumflex accent ( ˆ ) is used to denote the length of the vowels.
The circumflex accent ( ˆ ) is used to denote the length of the vowels.
Verb is a word that characteristically is the grammatical center of a predicate and expresses an act, occurrence, or mode of being.
It was noted that the Latin thought in the classical period understood and faced the world actively, as it turns out, and this was reflected into the language by a relatively rich varieties of verbal modifications.
General Notions Finite and Non-Finite Verbal Forms Persons (Personae)
Tenses (Tempora) Moods (Modi) Voices (Genera) Verba infinita Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Conjugations (Conjugationes) Verbal Endings
Conjunctive Vowels
Finite and Non-Finite Verbal Forms
The Latin grammarians have divided the verbal forms into two classes:
1. Verba finita, or personally defined verbal forms, and 2. Verba infinita, or personally undefined verbal forms.
Back to the Top Persons (Personae)
Latin has three persons:
First person referring to the speaker or writer of the utterance Second person referring to the person or thing addressed in the utterance Third person referring to one that is neither the speaker or writer of the utterance.
Unlike in English, the persons in Latin were indicated by specific verbal endings, the personal pronouns being attached to the verbs to express emphasis only.
Back to the Top Tenses (Tempora)
Tense is a distinction of form in a verb to express distinctions of time or duration of the action or state it denotes. There are six tenses in Latin, traditionally divided into two groups:
I. Main tenses
1. The Present tense (Praesens) denotes a state or action in the very moment of the utterance; 2. The Future tense (Futurum) denotes a state or action that will take place very soon; 3. The Future Perfect tense (Futurum secundum or Futurum exactum) denotes a future state or action that will precede another future state
or action.
I. Past (or historical) tenses 1. The Imperfect tense (Imperfectum) denotes a past state or action that is taking place with another past state or action; 2. The Perfect tense (Perfectum) denotes a state or action that has taken place before the time of the utterance; 3. The Pluperfect tense (Plusquamperfectum) denotes a state or action that had happened in the remote past or had preceded another past
state or action.
Back to the Top Moods (Modi)
Mood is a distinction of verb to express whether the action or state it denotes is conceived as fact command, possibility, or wish. There are three moods in Latin:
1. The Indicative (Indicatiivus) represents the denoted act or state as an objective fact.
2. The Imperative (Imperativus) expresses the will to influence the behavior of another. 3. The Subjunctive (Conjunctivus or Subjunctivus) represents a denoted act or state not as fact but as contingent or possible or viewed
emotionally (as with doubt or desire). It is used mainly in subordinite clauses. When used in main clauses, it expresses a slight command, insistence or invitation.
Back to the Top Voices (Genera)
The voice indicates the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses. There are two voices in Latin:
1. The Active voice (Activum) asserts that the person or thing represented by the grammatical subject performs the action represented by the verb: Pater amat filiam suam. The father loves his daughter.
2. The Passive voice (Passivum) asserts that the grammatical subject of a verb is subjected to or affected by the action represented by that verb: Pater amatur a filia sua. The father is loved by his daughter.
The Passive voice has sometimes reflexive meaning. A special class is formed by the so called deponent verbs ( verba deponentia ) that have passive forms only, but with active meaning: Imperator miilites hortatur. The general is encouraging the soldiers.
Back to the Top Verba infinita
Verba infinita are non-personal verbal forms that are not conjugated. There are four such forms in Latin:
1. The Infinitive (Infinitivus) performs some functions of a noun and at the same time displays some characteristics of a verb like tense (present, future and perfect) and voice and may have an object.
2. The Participle (Participium) is a word having the characteristics of both adjective and verb. Like the infinitive, the Latin participles has distinction of tense (present, future and perfect) and voice and may have an object. On the other hand, it is declined like an adjective.
3. The Gerund (Gerundium) is a verbal noun that expresses generalized or uncompleted action. It is a neuter verbal noun of II declensiion, used in Singular only, without Nominative form.
4. The Supine (Supinum) is a verbal noun of IV declension used in Accusative of purpose (-um) and in Ablative of specification (–u).
Back to the Top Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
The transitive verbs are those that may take a direct object. Only they may be used in Passive voice. The intransitive verbs cannot take a direct object and limit the effect of the action to the Subject itself. In the passive voice they are used impersonally in 3 p. sg. only, cf.:
curro I run and curritur it is run.Back to the Top
Conjugations (Conjugationes)
The Latin verbs have usually three stems: present, perfect and participial. According to the endings of the present stems the grammarians have classified the verbs into four classes (conjugations):
First conjugation – the stem is ended by a long –â (it is called a-conjugation): amâ|re to love; the present stem is amâ-. Second conjugation – the stem is ended by a long –ê (it is called e-conjugation): monê|re to advise; the present stem is monê-. Third conjugation – the stem is ended by a consonant or consonantic u (=[w]) (it is called consonantic conjugation): leg|ere to read,
statu|ere to set up (the vowel –e- before the –re ending is short); the present stems are leg- and statu-. Fourth conjugation – the stem is ended by a long –i (it is called i-conjugation): audî|re to hear; the present stem is audî-.
The conjugation are most easily recognizable in the present infinitive form of the verbs. Note that according to the accentuation rules the present infinitives of the I, II and IV conj. are stressed on the punultimate, while those of the III conj. – on the antepenultimate.
Back to the Top Verbal Endings
The Latin tenses are formed from the relevant stems plus specific temporal characteristics and the personal verbal endings. These endings are identical for all tenses of Indicative and Subjunctive, except for the Perfect Indicative.
Active Passive Perfect Indicative
Imperative
Present Future
Sg. 1. 2. 3.
-o, -m -s -t
-or, -r -ris -tur
-i -isti -it
-- = pres. stem
--
-- -to -to
Pl. 1. 2. 3.
-mus -tis -nt
-mur -mini -ntur
-imus -istis -êrunt
-- -te --
-- -tôte -ntoBack to the Top
Conjunctive Vowels
When the verbal stem is ended by a consonant or –u (=[w]), there are inserted conjunctive vowels between the stem and the temporal characteristic or personal ending that follow it. The conjunctive vowels are always short and they are as follows:
